What is Puerto Rican Food, Anyway?
A lot of people expect Puerto Rican food to be like Mexican, with
nachos and guacamole and burritos. But it’s a completely unique cuisine that
evolved over centuries from the blending of Spanish, Taino, West Indian and
American influences with the vegetables, fruits and meats available for
consumption on the island.
Traditional Puerto Rican food includes a large selection of fried
dishes, called frituras, often sold from roadside kiosks, and stuffed breads.
Many are deep-fried. Here are a few stalwarts:
- Alcapurrias–Yucca or plantain-based fritters filled with
ground beef, lobster, crab, or shrimp.
- Bacalaitos–Deep-fried, crunchy codfish fritters.
- Piononos–Deep-fried sweet plantain appetizers stuffed with
seasoned meat or seafood.
- Rellenos de Papa - Potatoes stuffed with ground beef and
deep fried to create a crispy outer layer.
- Arepas–fried bread stuffed with anything from cheese to
chicken or seafood.
- Plaintain–a green banana that is used in cooking many, many
dishes in Puerto Rico.
- Mofongo–fried, then mashed and spiced, plantain, stuffed
with meat or seafood and then covered in sauce.
- Empanadillas and Pastelillos–pastry pockets filled with
seafood, meat or cheese. Empanadillas are bigger.
- Fried Cheese–Lightly fried cheese squares served with guava
sauce. Lisa’s favorite.
- Cheese Balls–Breaded, deep-fried cheese fritters.
- Pinchos–outstanding chicken or pork kebabs with BBQ sauce.
- Quesito—Breakfast pastry filled with cream cheese and
sometimes fruit.
There are many other dishes. These two articles share even more information
about Puerto Rican cuisine.
Top 10 Puerto Rico
Speaking Latino
Coastal Food
Along the coast, traditional food means freshly caught
fish–dorado, red snapper, salmon, cod, or octopus or lobster, served with rice
and perhaps beans. Diners have a choice of traditional sauces that seem to be found
at all seafood restaurants on PR’s west coast: criollo (tomato, onion and peppers),
butter, and creamy garlic. Oysters and mussels are also big, and can be
consumed fresh from the sea at roadside stands in beach towns.
City Food
Cities in Puerto Rico are as
cosmopolitan as any, so dinner in San Juan or Ponce or Mayagüez could just as
easily mean Spanish (remember, Christopher Columbus and the first white
settlers came from Spain), Mexican, Argentinean, Brazilian, Japanese, Italian,
Thai, or any other cuisine. “Traditional” Puerto Rican food in a more upscale
restaurant will be less greasy and add new flavors. Be adventurous!
Up Next … The Messy Suitcase Guide to Eating
in Puerto Rico, Pt. 3: Our Restaurant Recommendations
Read Part 1
